Global Youth Summit reports 2007

Climbing Mount Elbrus

From 8th July – 18th July 2007, eleven young climbers took part in an international UIAA youth expedition to Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe. While they were acclimatising and preparing for the ascent, the climbers got the chance to compare experience and get more practice on glaciers. They also got a taste of local culture, including eating a sheep that was killed and cooked especially for them! All the young climbers, who were from Austria, Germany, Spain and Sweden, made the ascent to the peak 5642 m above see level. Two Austrian girls even made the descent on skis! You can view a photo gallery of the event by clicking on one of the photos in the right hand column of this page, or you can read the full report from expedition leader Alexander Zaidler.

Winter meet in rainy Scotland

In February 2007, 45 international guests from 22 countries and 30 British hosts met at Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore to enjoy Scottish winter climbing, walking and mountaineering. The meet was a Global Youth Summit event, and the participants were a mix of young and “old”. This meant that young climbers could learn from those who were more experienced with Scottish winter climbing.

”We had a really good crowd of people who got on very well. I think there were six major new routes done. However, there were really only a few days of really good conditions and a few crap days of rain etc - but that's Scotland for you,” said organiser Nick Colton.

For more information from the BMC and links, click here.

UIAA Youth Trek 2007 “Sentiero Roma”

A challenging hike, new and old international friends and sunshine were the ingredients when 25 youth and 12 leaders trekked the “Sentiero Roma” this summer. This Global Youth summit event was organised by the Italian Alpine Club and took place from 22 – 28 July 2007.

The participants came from Catalonia, Peru, Slovenia, Spain and Italy. Three of the Italian participants, from the Section of Massa, had a chance to welcome their friends from Peru, who they met last year in the Cordillera Blanca. But it was also a time for making new friendships across boarders, religions, ideologies and languages, which is the goal of the UIAA Youth commission.

The group made their way along the famous Alpine High route, which is based in the centre of the Alps Retiche. It crosses the entire head of Val Masino in front of the mountain groups of Ligoncio, Badile-Cengalo, Ferro, Torrone and Disgrazia, ending in Valmalenco.

It wasn’t an easy adventure. Some parts of the route required use of equipment, and some of these most difficult parts were at the end of long day’s hike. The back backs were heavy to carry as the route went up and down through the passes of Camerozzo (2720m), Qualido (2647m) and Cameraccio (2950m), the highest in the trail. But, the trekkers were lucky with the weather and had lots of sunshine and only two short, but intense, storms.

The trek started at Bagni de Masino (1150m) the old thermal station and on the way the group stopped at the following refuges: Omio (2100m), Gianetti (2534m), Allievi-Bonacossa (2385m), Ponti (2559m) and Bosio (2085m) in Valmalenco.

Click on the play button below for a slide show from the trek.